Bush Family Research

By Clifton
W. Bush

Section from Quisenberry book
relating to the Bush family.

Genealogical
Memoranda of the Quisenberry Family

and other Families

Page 77

CHAPTER IX.

THE BUSH FAMILY.

The Bush family, of Clark county, Kentucky, is said to
have descended from John Bush, who came from England and settled at
Kiccoughtan (now Hampton), Virginia, in the year 1618, and while there is probably
no doubt whatever of this being a fact, still, on account of the destruction
of many old records in Virginia, it has not been found possible to trace the
connection.

The furthest back the Clark county Bushes have been
absolutely traced is to John Bush, of St. Thomas Parish, Orange county,
Virginia, whose will was probated in that county in 1746. (See Appendix,
VIII, 19.) In this will his wife is mentioned as Bridget Bush, and the
following children are enumerated: (1) Philip; (2) Martha Bruce; (3)
Elizabeth Sanders; (4) John; (5) Thomas; (6) Daniel. The testator, John Bush,
was probably born not later than 1670, and was doubtless the grandson of the
pioneer John Bush who settled at Kiccoughtan in 1618. In this connection the
following note from the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (Vol. I,
page 194) may be of interest:

"John Bush, of Kiccoughtan, in the Corporation of
Elizabeth City, Gentleman, who came over in the Neptune, at his own charge,
in 1618, was patented 300 acres; 50 in his own right, 150 for the
transportation out of England of his wife, Elizabeth, and his children,
Elizabeth and Mary Bush, who all came in the Guift, in 1619; and 100 acres
for the transportation of his two servants, Thomas Hand and William Pucker,
who came in the Charles in 1621, said land being in the parish of Kiccoughtan
and adjoining the lands of Lieutenant Albino Lupo and William Julian and
bordering on the main river. Granted by Wyatt in 1624."

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This extract mentions only
two children, both daughters; but there were doubtless several others, both
sons and daughters, in the course of time. The Bushes have never been
deficient in that respect.

Philip Bush, of St. Thomas Parish, Orange county, Virginia,
the eldest son of John Bush, sr., of the same county and parish, was the
ancestor of the Clark county branch of the family. The first mention found
concerning him in the records of Orange county is where, on March 6, 1745,
William Bryan, of St. Thomas Parish, Orange county, sold to Philip Bush, of
the same county and parish, one hundred acres of land in the same county and
parish, "in consideration of five shillings and the rent of one ear of
Indian corn yearly, at the feast of St. Michael, the Archangel, when lawfully
demanded." One of the witnesses to this deed was Zachary Taylor, the
grandfather of the President of that name. The William Bryan who sold the
land was very probably the ancestor of William Jennings Bryan, whose Virginia
forefathers lived in Orange and the adjoining county of Culpeper.

Philip Bush, in his will (see Appendix VIII, 20), probated
in Orange county, Virginia, on September 24, 1772 (which was probably not
more than a month or so after his death), and witnessed by James Madison, the
father of President Madison, names ten children, and disposes of five hundred
acres of land, œ75 in money, four slaves, and some personal property. Several
of the children received no bequests of land, and doubtless he had previously
provided for them in that respect. At the time the will was made it seems his
wife was not living, as she is not mentioned in it, and none of her
descendants now know what her maiden name was. Her given name was Mary. The
children mentioned in the will are: (1) Josiah; (2) Philip; (3) John; (4)
William; (5) Ambrose; (6) Mrs. Sarah Watts; (7) Mrs Mary Richards; (8)
Joseph; (9) Joshua; (10) Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson. It is likely that all the
sons named saw service in the Revolutionary War. It is known that some of
them did.

Most of these children moved to Kentucky, sooner or later,
and some of them settled in what was called "the Barrens," in the
southwestern part of the State; and to this stock belongs Sarah Bush, the
second wife of Robert Lincoln, the father of Abraham

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Lincoln. Christopher Bush
was on Robert Lincoln's bond for this marriage.

Those of the children of Philip Bush, sr., who settled in
Clark county, Kentucky, and founded the famous "Bush Settlement,"
in the midst of which Providence Baptist church. or "the old stone
meeting house," was located, were:

1. PHILIP BUSH, born October 18, 1736. In his youth he
courted a young lady in Virginia who rejected him and married Colonel John
Vivion instead, but she promised that he might marry her first daughter, if
she should have a daughter; and sure enough he did marry her eldest daughter,
Frances Vivion, some eighteen or twenty years later, when he was forty years
of age. Among his children were Robert Bush, the father of the famous Dr.
Bush, of Lexington; Colonel John Bush; Peggy, who married Tandy Quisenberry,
and Polly, who married a Mr. McMurtry.

2. MARY BUSH, born July 3, 1738; married Robin Richards.

3. JOHN BUSH, born February 2, 1742. He was twice married,
and the name of his first wife is not now known. His second wife was Polly
Tillman.

4. WILLIAM BUSH (better known as "Captain Billy
Bush"), born October 29, 1746; died July 26, 1815. He married Frances
Tandy Burris, a sister of Jane Burris, the first wife of Rev. James
Quisenberry. Captain Billy Bush accompanied Daniel Boone on his second trip
to Kentucky, in 1770, and was a great Indian fighter. He also served under
George Rogers Clark in the Illinois campaign, which won the great Northwest
Territory for the United States. His tombstone says that "He was the
friend and companion of Daniel Boone."

5. AMBROSE BUSH, born April 8, 1748; married Lucy Golson,
or Gholson. They were the grandparents of Hon. Ambrose G. Bush, who for fifty
years has been the clerk of old Providence church, and of Judge James H.
Bush, Richard G. Bush, and Valentine W. Bush.

6. FRANCIS BUSH, born February 20, 1750. The name of his
first wife is not known, but their children were: (1) Fanny, who married
(???) Bradley; (2) Polly, who married Ambrose Christy; (3) Nancy, who married
Thomas Vivion; (4) Betsey, who married Daniel

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Orear. The second wife of Francis
Bush was Rachel Martin, and their children were: (5) Lucy, who married Colby
Burris Quisenberry; (6) Sallie, who married George Matthews; (7) Fielding,
who married Adelaide Halyard, daughter of Captain John Halyard, who commanded
a Virginia company in the Revolutionary war; (8) Jordan, who married Sallie
Miller Stewart. One of the granddaughters of Fielding Bush married Hon. John
H. Reagan, one of the founders of the Republic of Texas, afterwards Governor
of the State of Texas, then Postmaster-General of the Confederate States of
America, so called, and subsequently Representative and then Senator from
Texas in the United States Congress.

Francis Bush was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He
enlisted February 14, 1778, in Captain William Taylor's company of Colonel
Christian Febiger's 2d Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line, and served
one year. His second wife's father, John Martin, served as a sergeant in the
same regiment and company from September 16, 1776, to September 16, 1779.
This family of Martins are traditionally descended from Captain John Martin,
one of the Royal Councillors of Jamestown in 1607.

Francis Bush's home was on the hill, southwest of the old
stone meeting-house, and distant about a quarter of a mile from the church.
It was demolished about sixty years ago (1836), but remnants of the chimneys
still remain to mark the spot. He originally owned the spot upon which the
old church stands, and deeded it to the congregation to build their house of
worship on. He united with the church by open confession and baptism on
August 5, 1786. The date of his death is not known, but Rachel, his wife,
died in 1861, being then nearly one hundred years old.

The following extract from Mrs. Julia Tevis' valuable
autobiography, "Sixty Years in a School Room," is very interesting,
not only in connection with the Bush family, but also in connection with the
early history of Clark county.

Mrs. Tevis says:

"I was born December 5, 1799, in Clark county,
Kentucky. My grandparents on both sides were among the earliest immigrants
from Virginia into this State. Their location in the vicinity of

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Boonesboro' brought them into
familiar intercourse and companionship with Daniel Boone, and my maternal
grandfather, Ambrose Bush, with his four brothers, were among the most
celebrated of the 'old Indian fighters.' Their numerous descendants were
scattered over so large a portion of Clark county as to give it the name of
'Bush Settlement.' Thrifty and respectable farmers, they occupied a position
in society both honorable and useful. * * * My grandmother Bush was a
strictly pious Baptist; my grandmother Hieronymous a Methodist of the old
school, a real Wesleyan, thoroughly and decidedly religious. * * * I remember
my grandmother Bush more distinctly, as much of my time between the ages of
four and seven was spent with her. Like gleams of light come up now my joyous
Saturday evenings and Sundays at the old homestead, and the many dear, merry,
warmhearted cousins, with whom I so often played 'Mrs. Bush,' or 'Lady Come
to See'--the Bushes being so numerous that we had no idea but that they
filled the world. Our world they did fill. I can, even now, see in the dim,
shadowy distance the tall, queenly form of my grandmother, simply attired in
a dove-colored dress and plain white 'kerchief, with a cap faultless in shape
and of snowy whiteness, setting off the most benevolent of features. I can
hear her quick step, and her sweet voice calling 'Jennie, Julia, Esther,
Polly!"(???)her four daughters; for when she wanted one she never failed
to call them all over before she could get the right name. And from habitual
quickness of word, thought and action she often made a laughable pell-mell of
words. When she called for her black mare to be saddled--for everybody rode
on horseback in those days, there being nothing more than bridle paths--it
was: 'Warrick, run up the black mare, bring down the backstairs and put my
saddle on it right away; quick, quick, for I must go to sister Frankey's at
once.' And how often have I ridden to the stone meeting-house behind her on
that same black mare, and walked over and around the churchyard where now my
beloved grandparents lie buried with many of their descendants. Grandfather
was often away from home on the 'war-path' for days and weeks at a time.
During his absence my grandmother kept her little ones about her, and never
failed to commend them to God in family prayer, night and morning.

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She was gifted with a fine
voice, and I never heard her sing anything but hymns. Often have I heard my mother
relate thrilling stories about Indians, panthers and wolves that came
stealthily around the solitary dwellings, their approach undiscovered in
consequence of the dense canebrake, until their gleaming eyes peering through
the unchinked walls aroused the family to a terrible consciousness of danger.
But never did they seem able to molest the charmed circle within. Indians
would steal the horses and fly; wild beasts found other prey and departed.

"At the time that my grandfather, with his four
brothers and sister, came to Kentucky, many families traveled together for
mutual safety and protection against the Indians, whose hunting-grounds
extended to the border settlements of Virginia. On their way through the
wilderness they encountered bears, buffaloes, wolves, wild-cats, and
sometimes herds of deer. Thus they moved cautiously onward, in long lines,
through a narrow bridle-path so encumbered with brush and undergrowth as to
impede their progress and render it necessary that they should sometimes
encamp for days in order to rest their weary packhorses, and forage for
themselves. A space of country that can now be leisurely passed over in less
than ten days, was then a journey of many weeks, and sometimes months. I have
heard interesting anecdotes related connected with the emigration of my
grandfather's family through this wilderness. When they tarried, even for a
day or night, pickets were thrown out and every pass was guarded vigilantly,
lest haply some lurking foe might invade the camp. None dared to speak aloud,
and generally the horses' feet were muffled for fear of attracting attention.
No camp-fires were lighted, and when night dropped her dark curtains around
the weary travelers some rested or slept while others gazed in death-like
stillness upon the sparkling firmament, or listened to the music of streamlet
or breeze, occasionally starting at the rustling of a leaf--anything that
broke the solemn stillness striking terror to the heart.

"Once, after having passed over many miles without
interruption, the travelers grew careless, and scattered groups pursued their
way without apprehension. One family, being considerably in advance, was
entirely separated from the company. Several

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hours had elapsed without
one of them being seen by those in the rear. Night came on; the stars shone
in full glory, shedding a hazy light on a few of the nearer objects, but
adding to the dimness and uncertainty of everything beyond. The profound silence
was broken only by the restlessness of the tethered horses, or the low
murmuring in dreams of the disturbed sleepers. So intense was the stillness
that an imaginary noise more than once startled the guards into an
apprehension of a night attack, deepening the ominous silence and quickening
the light step of the sentinel as he made his lonely round. The report of a
gun was heard, and then another, followed by the fierce war-whoop of the
savage. Some of the young men, dashing rapidly onward, soon reached a spot
where, in the gray light of dawn, a scene of horror presented itself, not
uncommon in those perilous times. A party of Indians had come upon the family
stealthily, and, after a fierce struggle, had fled precipitately with all the
plunder they could carry. The lightfooted mysterious enemy had left the
impress of his hand on the dead and dying, scattered in every direction. One
young girl, about fourteen, had been scalped and left for dead in a deep
ravine. She had only swooned, and her brother, after the fray was over,
seeing something in the dim distance that looked like an animal, creeping
slowly toward them through the bushes, raised his gun to fire, when he saw a
human hand uplifted in an imploring attitude. In a few minutes more he
discovered it to be his sister, crawling on her hands and knees, her face
completely covered by her matted hair. As he drew near she threw back her
hair, and uttering the word 'brother,' fainted in his arms. She had been
scalped, but not deeply wounded, and her only permanent loss was a portion of
the skin of her head, rudely torn off by the firm grasp of an Indian. This
young girl lived to reach Kentucky, grew up into womanhood, married, and
became the mother of a number of sons and daughters--a proof that scalping does
not necessarily produce death.

"One circumstance, often related to me, forcibly
illustrates the keen instinct of the panther. My grandfather had been out on
a hunt for many days. Weary eyes and anxious hearts were watching and waiting
his return. It was midsummer, and the tall cane, with its gracefully waving
leaves, excluded the view of every

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object not in the immediate vieinity
of the lonely and scattered dwellings. About sunset one lovely afternoon my
grandmother, with her faithful handmaiden, 'Mourning,' set out to fetch some
water from the spring which, though at no great distance from the house, was
hidden from sight. Always in fear of ambushed savages, they were walking
slowly along when startled by the lost hunter's cry of 'hoo-hoo!' which was
suppressed at intervals, as if listening for a response to assure him that he
was in the neighborhood of home and loved ones. My grandmother answered, as
she was wont to do, while her heart thrilled with the joyful anticipation of
meeting her returning husband. 'Hoo-hoo!' in a loud voice was again heard and
responded to, each time seeming nearer and more distinct; when, just as they
emerged from the thicket and caught a glimpse of the shelving rock that
over-arched the spring. they perceived something moving among the bushes
above. At first they supposed it to be nothing more than a raccoon or an
opossum, but it proved to be a panther. This animal, when stimulated by
hunger, would assail whatever would provide him with a banquet of blood. Lo!
there he stood on the rock high above the spring, squatting on his hind legs
in the attitude of preparing to leap--his glaring eyeballs fierce with
expectation. His gray coat, fiery eyes, and the cry which he at that moment
uttered, rendered by its resemblance to the human voice peculiarly terrific,
denoted him to be the most ferocious of his detested kind. My grandmother,
whose presence of mind never forsook her, even under the most appalling
circumstances, retreated slowly, keeping her eyes steadily fixed on the eyes
of the monster, which seemed momentarily paralyzed by her gaze, until she and
the negro girl could turn by a sudden angle into the woods, when, adding
'wings to their speed,' they soon reached the house and barred the doors
behind them.

"I do not wish to give the impression that the name
of Bush is entitled to any patronymic distinction, or that any branch of the
family claim nobility; nevertheless, they came from a pure and ancient stock,
upon whose bright escutcheon no stain had ever rested. It had never been
legally disgraced, and never forfeited its claims to respect and
consideration. The family was originally English, and the tradition among
them is that the founder of the

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American branch, John Bush,
came over among the first settlers of Jamestown, and was the friend and companion
of Captain John Smith. My great-grandfather, Philip Bush, pessessed a large
landed estate. His eight sons and four daughters were matrimonially connected
with some of the most distinguished families in the 'Old Dominion.' My
grandfather, Ambrose, the youngest child, save one, married a Gholson, a
family from whence originated statesmen and orators. My great-uncle, Captain
Billy Bush, came to Kentucky with Daniel Boone on his second trip. He was
fortunate in securing the fairest portion of the land in Clark county, by
warrants and otherwise, extending from Winchester to Boonesboro'. He gave
away, or sold for a trifle, farm after farm to his friends and relatives that
they might be induced to settle near him. These seemed so well satisfied with
the Goshen of their choice that even their descendants had no disposition to
emigrate, nor, indeed, to enter the arena of public life. Thus they continued
their pastoral and farming occupations, 'lengthening their cords and
strengthening their stakes,' marrying and intermarrying with the families in
the vicinity as well as among their own kindred, until the relationship can
scarcely be traced to a vanishing point. There are the Quisenberrys, the
Vivions, the Elkins, the Gentrys, the Embrys, the Bushes, etc.--all uncles,
aunts or cousins, and at one time you might travel for miles without being
out of the favored circle. When I can first recollect, it was a community of
Baptists, and they all worshiped at the stone meeting-house, on Howard's
Creek. There is an interest attached to this old church that deserves
mention. It is probably the first Baptist church built in Kentucky, [It is
the first of any kind.--A. C. Q.] and its foundations are laid deep and
strong, though not large and wide. A community of Baptists living in Virginia
determined to emigrate to Kentucky, in 1780. The ruling elder, Rev. Mr.
Vinton [Vivion], was their leader. They passed through much tribulation, and
finally reached their destination, but had no permanent place of worship
until the stone church was erected and called 'Providence.' Rev. Robert Elkin
was their pastor for forty-two years. Among the most prominent members for a
long time were my grandparents, who lived to see many of their descendants
baptized into the same church. I visited

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the neighborhood in 1824,
and found attached to the congregation thirteen widow Bushes. During the past
year (1864) I had the privilege of entering within its hallowed walls and hearing
an excellent sermon from a Reformed Baptist minister. The Reformers preach on
alternate Sundays with the old Baptists, and the two congregations worship
together, generally without any disagreement. The old church is in good
condition. We reach it through a lovely bluegrass region, dotted with stately
mansions and rendered attractive by green lawns and magnificent old sugar
trees, through whose foliage the sunlight streaming down covers the ground
with enchanting figures of light and shade. The rugged hills surrounding the
creek present a striking contrast to the green valleys where summer sleeps
upon beds of roses. Now and then a simple cottage is seen sparkling like a
diamond in its granite cup; or on the top of some green and goodly hill a
dwelling, white and fair, gleaming through depths of richest verdure. In a
lovely nook, nestled among the rock-hills of the creek, stands the house of a
dear old relative [Roger Quisenberry], with whose family I was privileged to
spend a few hours during my recent visit--a golden link in the chain of
reminiscences binding me to the past. What a tide of sweet memories swept
over me as I listened and learned again the oft-repeated histories of my
childhood's rosy hours, and stood once more in the graveyard where, amid
crumbling gravestones, rested the bodies of so many I had known and loved in
early life. What changes had passed over Kentucky since my grandparents were
deposited in that quiet resting-place! Their tomb-stones are hoary with age.
and crumbling into dust; but affection keeps the spot green with fresh
memorials. Flowers bloom in loveliness around them. The sweetbrier sends
forth its fragrance and summer roses are found there gushing with dewy
sweetness.

"Of my uncle, Billy Bush, a word and I am done with
this subject, rendered somewhat tedious by the clinging fondness of my own
recollections. This famous old Indian fighter, after having suffered, in
common with the rest of the settlers, many privations. and having endured
much, found himself with but a few hundred acres of that vast domain he had
fought to defend. He had munificently given away much, and was probably
bereft of some by defective

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titles. He spent his latter years
in the visionary pursuit of silver mines, which he never found. Like the
mirage of the desert they eluded his grasp, forever and forever vanishing as
the spot was neared. The glittering prize proved 'a glorious cheat,' but it
kept up its delusions until the 'silver-chord was loosened and the golden
bowl was broken,' and the poor old man found a resting place beneath Kentucky
soil, with many other patriarchs of the infant State.

* * * "I recollect what an inexpressible feeling of
awe crept over my childish spirit as I listened to the veteran pionecrs
teling their exploits with the Indians and recounting with peculiar zest
their perils, their bloody struggles, their hairbreadth escapes, and their
victories. The whites scarcely ever took prisoners; they considered it safer
to dispatch them at once to another world. My heart-bubbling laughter was
stilled and my childish sports forgotten as, listening, I crept nearer to my
grandmother's side. * * * The whole State of Kentucky was then a perfect
jungle of beautiful luxuriance, and, to the admiring eyes of the new
settlers, another Eden, with its green glories of canebrake (which in some
places grew twenty feet high) and forest, crystal streams and laughing skies;
its luxuriant cornfields and bluegrass woodland pastures. No wonder our good
old preacher, with his own peculiar quaintness, in describing the beauties of
heaven called it 'a fair Kentucky of a place.' To the early settlers of
Kentucky it appeared a fairy land. Leaf-embowered streams, whose laughing waters
danced over polished pebbles that glittered in the sunlight like diamonds;
hill and dale, mountain and glade, varied the scene to the charmed eye of the
huntsman, as he wandered through the thick forests under a canopy of softest
blue, while the lofty trees sang a pleasant melody at the bidding of the
balmy, flower-laden breeze. No wonder that the tales of the past, which now
in memory dwell, are full of mystical fancies, arising from those days and
beautiful solitudes where--

'All the boundless store of charms
Which nature to her votary yields,
The pomp of grove and garniture of fields.'--

fills the heart with emotions of love and gratitude to
that great and good Being who created this earthly paradise, as if to reflect
the

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glories of that world of
light and love, where silvery vales and glittering streams, green fields and
budding flowers 'forever and forever rise.'

* * * "In the early part of the present century the
cottonfields in Clark county yielded enough of the best quality of cotton to
supply the wants of every family; and while tobacco was the staple of the
State, rich harvests of wheat, extensive corn-fields, and every variety of
cereals gladdened the happy farmer with the consciousness of a bountiful
provision for his family. Sugar was made in abundance from the maple, whole
groves of which were found in Kentucky before the utilitarian ax of the
woodman laid them prostrate to give place to the more useful bluegrass. One
of these groves, on my grandfather's place, contained a thousand trees, many
of which are still standing (1865). The sugar-making time, in February, when
the rich sap began to flow abundantly, was a glorious time, and long looked
forward to with as much delight as Christmas. A regular encampment on the
ground made a pleasant home for the two weeks devoted to this gypsy life. The
children, including the little negroes--and there were swarms of them--to use
their own word, 'toted' sugar-water in their tiny pails hour after hour, and
were amply rewarded when the sugar was in its transition state of wavy
consistency, with as much as they could eat. My grandmother's sugar-chest was
every year filled with grained maple sugar, whiter and purer than that made
from the cane, while a great quantity was put up in cakes for eating--like
candy, and as much molasses was reserved as would abundantly supply the
family until sugar-making time came around again.

"And now, while I write, I can see the camp-fires
lighted, the dusky figures passing and repassing, groups of happy children
laughing and shouting as they bring in their contributions of crystal water
for the steaming boilers. I almost inhale the delicious breath of an
atmosphere redolent with a freshness and purity never known in the crowded
haunts of men. I have counted nearly sixty years since those days of
unmingled joyousness, yet still the memory of that time is green, when I
played beneath the boughs of the lofty maple trees, at whose roots grew the
fresh moss, clustered with tiny blue flowers, or wandered through avenues of
pawpaw

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bushes, as I wended my way
from my father's house to the dear old grandfather's homestead."

Of a visit she paid to "The Bush Settlement," in
1824, Mrs Tevis, in a subsequent chapter of her book, says:

"Most of the old landmarks had been swept away; the
paw paw bushes were gone; the double line of cherry trees that formed an
avenue from my grandfather's to my uncle Gholson's white cot tage on the
hill, under which I had so often stood holding up my little check apron to
receive the clustering cherries thrown down by brothers and cousins, were no
longer there. * * * There was the same old stile to cross before we could enter
the yard, ever then covered with a living green as soft and rich as in
midsummer There was the quaint old brick house--the first brick house ever
built in Kentucky--with its projecting gables and its ample door standing
wide open to welcome the coming guest. * * * The next day, the news of my
coming being spread throughout the neighborhood, a numerous delegation of
uncles, aunts and cousins came to welcome us and invite us to partake of
their hospitality. The family tree, transplanted from Virginia to Kentucky
soil, had lost neither beauty nor glory. Its branches were widespread and
flourishing, and from its roots had sprung a thousand ramifications, whence
arose many a roof-tree, affording shelter and protection to wayworn travelers
and homeless wanderers. * * * My eyes wandered about the best room in search
of some familiar objects. The same old clock stood in the corner ticking its
'ever, forever,' as regularly as of old, and near by the little square table
with its deep drawer in which my grandmother kept the cakes, baked every
Saturday afternoon for the children who generally came with their parents to
dine on Sunday. The wide, open fireplace brought to mind the 'yule log,'
Christmas fires and winter cotton-picking. I could almost see the little woolly-headed
cotton-gins of olden times, each with a heap of cotton before him from which
to separate the seed, and sundry little grandchildren plying their nimble
fingers in the same manner, grandmother superintending the whole--the click
of her knitting-needles, meantime, as uninterrupted as the ticking of the
clock. Our tasks done, cakes, nuts, etc., were distributed,

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and then followed a game of romps,
which my grand father enjoyed as much as the children, and he could laugh as
loud and long as any of us. * * * I recalled old 'Uncle Billy Bush,' of
Indian memory, who lived near by, and frequently formed one of the merry
group, chasing us about the room with his cane. How we all loved to see his
ruddy face, so full of intelligence and good humol, a lurking jest ever in
his eye, and a smile about the corners of his mouth, with a voice loud enough
to hail a ship at sea without the aid of a speaking trumpet! It was
wonderfully rich, too; harmonizing admirably with his blunt, jovial face; and
this warm, rosy scene generally closed with an exciting Indian story, in
which Daniel Boone figured, as well as himself. * * * During our stay here we
spent one charming day with 'Aunt Frankey Billy,' the widow of this old
uncle, so called to distinguish her from another 'Aunt Frankey,' and noted
for her good housewifery, as well as her boundless hospitality.
Simple-hearted, right-minded, and pious she was loved by all who knew her. So
free from selfishness, so liberal, so everything a nice old lady ought to
be--what a pleasure it was to see her still presiding at her own table,
abundantly spread with all that could minister to the most delicate taste or
satisfy the most craving hunger."

A word concerning Mrs. Julia Tevis herself. Her father's
patronymic was Hieronymus, and her mother was the daughter of the first
Ambrose Bush. Her grandfather Hieronymus was a native of Austria, who
emigrated to America and settled in Virginia prior to the Revolutionary War;
and he was among the first settlers in Clark county, Kentucky. Although an
Austrian, the name Hieronymus clearly shows that he was of Roman or Latin
descent. Hieronymus was the name of one of the numerous Roman Emperors, and
there was also a Roman historian of the same name. Mrs. Tevis' grandfather
was a highly educated man, and spoke all the European languages. When she was
quite young her father, Pendleton Hieronymus, moved with his family to
Virginia, because of the superior educational advantages of that State at
that time. He settled first in Winchester, Va., but subsequently removed to
Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, where his daughter finished

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her education under the best masters. Here she saw the burning of the Capitol
by the British in 1814. She continued to live in Georgetown until 1824, and
met, in Washington City, the most distinguished men and mingled with the most
polished society of the times. In 1824 she was married to Rev. John Tevis, a
native of Kentucky, and a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1825
she founded in Shelbyville, Ky., the "Science Hill Academy" for
young women, and it became one of the most famous schools in the country. In
1875 she celebrated the semi-centennial of this school. Up to that time she
had educated more than three thousand young women, and some of her first
graduates attended the celebration and brought their grandchildren with them.
Mrs. Tevis continued to direct this school until her death, which occurred in
1883.

THE OLD STONE
MEETING-HOUSE.

No account of the Bush family, however brief, would be
complete without some acount also of old Providence church, which that family
in a great measure founded, and which they have largely nurtured and
sustained for almost one hundred and twenty years.

The records of the church go back continuously to
December, 1780, when the congregation was residing temporarily at Holston,
Va.; but the church had existed as an organized body prior to that time, and,
according to tradition, the following is, in substance, its previous history:

Captain Billy Bush, who had accompanied Daniel Boone to
Kentucky, returned to his home in Virginia about the beginning of the year
1780, and he gave such glowing descriptions of the new country that a colony
of about forty families, living in Orange and Culpeper counties, and all
Baptists, were induced to start in the summer of that year for Boonesboro',
Ky., at or near which place they determined to settle. Captain Billy Bush
went in advance to Boonesboro' to choose and locate lands in that vicinity
for each of these families, and, sensible man that he was, he chose the lands
on the north side of the river, in what is now Clark county. The others, or
such of them as were church members, organized themselves into a Baptist
church, but the name of the

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church at that time, if it had
one, has not survived. They had no regularly ordained pastor, but Elder John
Vivion acted in that capacity, and under his leadership this unique church
colony made ready and started, and proceeded as far as Holston (now Abingdon,
Va.), which is near the line between Virginia and Kentucky, arriving there in
December, 1780. On their tedious march through the wilderness to this point
they had held divine services in their temporary encampments every Sunday,
invariably making a halt for the purpose of keeping the day holy and engaging
in divine worship.

At Holston they received advice by a runner from Captain
Billy Bush, who was then in the fort at Boonesboro', warning them not to
proceed any further for the time being. The troubles with the Indians at that
time rendered it impolitic and unwise for them to proceed into Kentucky. At
this point they met Rev. Robert Elkin, a regularly ordained Baptist minister
"from the older parts of Virginia," who was also on his way to
Kentucky, with his family, and choosing him as their pastor they at once
(December, 1780) reorganized the church, and the minute records of its
history are complete from that time to this. At that time the Baptist
fraternity was divided into two factions, known severally as "Regulars"
and "Separatists," and this church was of the Separatist faction.
Among the names prominently mentioned in the reorganization proceedings are
those of Rev. Robert Elkin, pastor; John Vivion, elder; Philip Bush, clerk;
Ambrose Bush, Lucy Bush, William Bush, Frances Bush, John Bush, Robin
Richards, Mary Richards, Daniel Ramey, Philip Johnson, William Fletcher, John
Vivion, jr., Benjamin Johnston, Mary Johnston, Thomas Sutherland, Joseph
Embry, Milly Embry, Mary Harris and Mary Clark. There were forty-five members
in all.

This body remained at Holston until 1783, raising three
crops there; and, the colony being reinforced by numerous accessions of
people en route to Kentucky, they then moved forward to Lewis Craig's
Station, on Gilbert's creek, in Lincoln county, Kentucky, where they remained
until November 12, 1785, or about two years. From this point a number of
members of the church proceeded to the so-called "Barrens" of
Southwestern Kentucky, but the great majority of them, in 1785, removed to
the waters of Lower Howard's

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creek, in what is now Clark
county, and occupied the lands that had been located for them by Captain Billy
Bush. Their first meeting as a church in the new locality is quaintly
chronicled in the church records as follows: "Through a turn of God's
providence, the church chiefly moving to the north side of the Kentucky
river, and for the health and prosperity of Zion, we have appointed a church
meeting at Bro. William Bush's house for November 27 1785."

At that meeting new officers were elected, and the
organization was named "Howard's Creek Church," and for about two
years the meetings were held in the houses of the members. The first house
o?? worship erected was a log structure, built in 1787 on a lot given for
that purpose by Francis Bush and Robin Richards, his brother in-law. This log
church was provided with loop-holes through which the devout pioneers could
fire their trusty flint-locks at In dians who might attempt (and they
sometimes did) to interrup the devotions with hostile demonstrations. This
building was replaced, on the same site, by the famous "old stone
meeting-house," which was finished and dedicated to God in May, 1799.

Spencer's History of Kentucky Baptists says: "In 1785
James Quisenberry, an ordained minister from Virginia, joined this church,
and in January of the next year Andrew Tribble, also a minister from the same
State, became one of its members. About this time a revival began in the
church and continued nearly two years. During this period a considerable
number were baptized, o?? whom were Christopher Harris, Squire Boone, jr.
(nephew of Danie Boone), and James Haggard, who became preachers. In 1787 the
church entered into the constitution of South Kentucky Association. In 1790
another revival visited the church, and many were baptized, among whom was
Edward Kindred, who became a good preacher. The church had now become quite large.
But during this year a difficulty between Robert Elkin and Andrew Tribble
caused a division in the body. By the advice of Elders John Bailey Joseph and
William Bledsoe, and others, the Elkin party retained the constitution, but
changed the name of the church from 'Howards Creek' to 'Providence,' while
the Tribble party was constituted under the name of 'Unity.' The two churches
agreed to live in fellowship.

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Providence continued a 'Separatist'
church until 1801, when the terms of general union between the Regulars and
Separates were ratified at its house of worship. After that it belonged to
the old North District Confederacy for a number of years, and finally united
with the Boone's Creek Association. Many prominent citizens of Clark county
have been among its members, and most of the Bushes, Haggards, Quisenberrys
and Elkins in the State, and multitudes of them in the great West, are
descendants of the fathers of this famous old church."

In 1830 another serious difficulty confronted the church.
Many of its members then united with the sect originated by Alexander
Campbell and others, then known as Reformers but now as Disciples of Christ,
or Christians. The minutes show that on October 2, 1830, there was "a
motion in order before us to know whether we will or will not commune with
members of the Baptist church who call themselves Reformers. The church says
she will not." The Baptists, however, permitted the withdrawing members,
who organized a church of their own, to use the church building on alternate
Sundays with themselves, and this continued in all peace and amity until
1870, when the Baptists built a new house of worship on the Boonesboro' and
Winchester turnpike, a mile or so away, and sold the old stone meeting-house
to a colored Baptist congregation, who still occupy it. The old church
building is in a good state of preservation and bids fair to easily last
another century or two.

In 1876 Mr. Ambrose G. Bush printed in the Winchester
Democrat a brief sketch of the history of old Providence, in which he stated
that up to that time one thousand and forty-six members had been received
into the church by experience and baptism and two hundred and twenty-seven by
letter--a total of twelve hundred and seventy-three; and it had had seventeen
pastors, viz.: Robert Elkin, 1780 to 1822; Richard Morton, 1822 to 1828;
George Boone (a nephew of Daniel Boone), 1828 to 1833; (???) Elrod, 1833 to
1834; Abner D. Landrum, 1834 to 1838; Thomas German, 1838 to 1842; Buford E.
Allen, 1842 to 1847; Edward Darnaby, 1847-1848; without a pastor for some
months, then: Buford E. Allen, September and October, 1849, when he resigned
and the church was again without

The churches that have had their origin from old
Providence are Unity, in 1790; Indian Creek, in 1792; these two united in
1845 and formed Mt. Olive; Boggs' Fork, in Fayette county, in 1812, which was
afterwards merged into Boone's Creek church, at Athens; the Baptist church at
Winchester, in 1859; and the Reform, or Christian church, now known as
"Forest Grove Church," in 1830.